# Can you hear this sound? A poll/test. **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [May 24, 2006, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-hear-this-sound-a-poll-test/358083 "2006-05-24T20:47:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Marienee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/73ab20/32.png) [@Marienee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marienee)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2006, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-hear-this-sound-a-poll-test/358083/81 "2006-05-26T15:00:21Z")
[QUOTE=Greywolf73] Yep, I hear it. Sounds like an ultrasonic…something. It made my head feel as if it was stuffed with cotton. Odd sensation. I’m 33. I’m almost positive this is the same high-pitched sound I used to hear as a kid whenever my parents took me to Sears in the mall. [/QUOTE] If you lived in the south you also heard it in Rich’s, if the Rich’s near you had furs. It was a motion alarm, I was told many years later, which no one could possibly hear. Well, except me as far as I knew. I had a flashback to that alarm, too, as soon as I heard the noise. _shudder_. I generally ran away from it when I was a child, my folks thought I was either seeking attention or completely insane. I was inclined to agree with them since as far as I knew I was making it up. Except that I couldn’t stop making it up, that is. ---
**Author:** ![js\_africanus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/87869e/32.png) [@js\_africanus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/js_africanus)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2006, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-hear-this-sound-a-poll-test/358083/82 "2006-05-26T15:29:01Z")
The more I think about this, the more outraged I become. This noise is loud enough to be painful, which I assume is loud enough to be harmful. And even if it’s not harmful, it’s still causing real pain on people based on nothing more than age. They’re trying to keep people away by physically hurting them; if it were the elderly they were hurting, it’d be an outrage. Even worse, those least able to defend themselves are being physically hurt: parents, many of whom presumably cannot hear the noise, are going to be bringing their kids to shopping venues, and many of those kids will be unable to articulate the source of their distress. Can you honestly imagine **knowingly** causing acute ear pain and splitting headaches in toddlers? Or infants? Giving their parents no means to even detect the assault their children are being subjected to? And categorically discrimating against full-grown adults because they happen to have childred? ---
**Author:** ![cantara](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6f9a4e/32.png) [@cantara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cantara)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2006, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-hear-this-sound-a-poll-test/358083/83 "2006-05-26T15:48:42Z")
If I am listening for it, then I can hear it but only a couple of times through the clip. It is noticable at the very end…bzzz, bzzz. I don’t find it annoying. I’m 40 (urgh!) in a month… The sound that bothers me is the ventilation at work. There is a constant flow of air and the low rumble of the fans. I get all tense without realizing it until the units turn off and I find myself relax and enjoy the (relative) quiet. ---
**Author:** ![Oy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bc8723/32.png) [@Oy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oy)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2006, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-hear-this-sound-a-poll-test/358083/84 "2006-05-26T17:04:27Z")
50 here. The first sound, with the crowd noise, I had my speakers all the way up and couldn’t consciously hear the sound, but felt a mild nausea a certain parts. The second sound I could occasionally catch as a sound, and I felt the nausea very strongly for as much time as I could stand it. BTW, appears to only be my left ear that can hear it. My left eye is the stronger of the two as well - maybe there’s a connection? I remember being able to hear those ultra-sonic motion detectors some 25 years ago or so. It was really quite horrible! This is the first realization I’ve had that I’ve actually lost some hearing with age. I could have done without it… ---
**Author:** ![js\_africanus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/87869e/32.png) [@js\_africanus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/js_africanus)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2006, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-hear-this-sound-a-poll-test/358083/85 "2006-05-26T17:19:11Z")
[QUOTE=Oy!] This is the first realization I’ve had that I’ve actually lost some hearing with age. I could have done without it… [/QUOTE] My dad can’t hear the top two keys on the piano. If you had a song using only those two keys, all he’d hear is the thud-thud of the machinery. ---
**Author:** ![Oy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bc8723/32.png) [@Oy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oy)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2006, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-hear-this-sound-a-poll-test/358083/86 "2006-05-26T17:37:23Z")
[QUOTE=js\_africanus] My dad can’t hear the top two keys on the piano. If you had a song using only those two keys, all he’d hear is the thud-thud of the machinery. [/QUOTE] That’s right, sonny. Just keep cheering me up, why don’t you? ---
**Author:** ![js\_africanus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/87869e/32.png) [@js\_africanus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/js_africanus)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2006, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-hear-this-sound-a-poll-test/358083/87 "2006-05-26T17:40:21Z")
[QUOTE=Oy!] That’s right, sonny. Just keep cheering me up, why don’t you? [/QUOTE] Considering that you’re 27 years younger than he is, I don’t think you should be worrying yet. ---
**Author:** ![Oy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bc8723/32.png) [@Oy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oy)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2006, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-hear-this-sound-a-poll-test/358083/88 "2006-05-26T17:47:36Z")
[QUOTE=js\_africanus] Considering that you’re 27 years younger than he is, I don’t think you should be worrying yet. [/QUOTE] Hmph. (goes off muttering about “these kids today.”) ---
**Author:** ![chaoticbear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f07891/32.png) [@chaoticbear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chaoticbear)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2006, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-hear-this-sound-a-poll-test/358083/89 "2006-05-26T18:15:36Z")
An annoying whine, that doesn’t necessarily hurt my ears. 1. ---
**Author:** ![psycat90](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7ea924/32.png) [@psycat90](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psycat90)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2006, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-hear-this-sound-a-poll-test/358083/90 "2006-05-26T21:54:23Z")
Wow. I listened 3 times and I couldn’t hear much of anything besides the misc. backrgound noise, people talking, etc. (I’m 35.) I had a feeling this was that contraption I’d read a story about a couple of months ago and was actually listening for something, but just didn’t pick anything odd up. I asked my 15 year old son to put my headphones on and asked him what he heard. He put them on, then looked funny at me, turned the volume down and said “It stings, it hurts.” And then described the pulsing sound. I have to say, that’s pretty neat. ---
**Author:** ![ultrafilter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/3d9bf3/32.png) [@ultrafilter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ultrafilter)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2006, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-hear-this-sound-a-poll-test/358083/91 "2006-05-26T21:56:55Z")
[QUOTE=psycat90] I have to say, that’s pretty neat. [/QUOTE] Not if you can hear it. ---
**Author:** ![psycat90](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7ea924/32.png) [@psycat90](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psycat90)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2006, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-hear-this-sound-a-poll-test/358083/92 "2006-05-26T22:26:01Z")
[QUOTE=ultrafilter] Not if you can hear it. [/QUOTE] Good point. And since my 19 year old son just walked in, I had to experiment with him too. 😉 He didn’t react like my 15 year old. He just said, “I hear a high pitched buzzing, it’s kind of annoying.” ---
**Author:** ![Critical\_Mass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f1d935/32.png) [@Critical\_Mass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Critical_Mass)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2006, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-hear-this-sound-a-poll-test/358083/93 "2006-05-26T23:10:30Z")
All I hear is a couple of people and some clanking. There is some general noise, but it’s about the same as traffic noise off in the distance. No pulsing, no high pitched noise. I know my hearing is good because it was checked a few months back. Age 38 ---
**Author:** ![Lionne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Lionne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lionne)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2006, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-hear-this-sound-a-poll-test/358083/94 "2006-05-27T03:50:29Z")
I hear a repetitive ‘whooshing’ and a couple of clanks near the end, but no high-pitched sound or migraine-inducing pulsing or anything of that nature. I turned the volume all the way up and also played around with the equalizer on my media player. Couldn’t really make out any difference. I’m 25, and wear hearing aids. (that probably has something to do with it) ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_Pearse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/richard_pearse/32/13144_2.png) [@Richard\_Pearse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Pearse)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2006, 10:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-hear-this-sound-a-poll-test/358083/95 "2006-05-27T10:32:30Z")
i hear the high pitched noise, at first I thought I was just tuning in to the sound of the computer monitor, but once I turned it up I realised it was the sound file. It is annoying. I’m 31 with some high register hearing loss (guitars and aeroplanes.) ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2006, 10:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-hear-this-sound-a-poll-test/358083/96 "2006-05-27T10:42:39Z")
[QUOTE=Bear\_Nenno] Obviously this thing is annoying to more than just teenagers. Is it really supposed to be inaudible to older people? Or are they assuming that people who aren’t loitering will be willing to tolerate the irritation long enough to stop by and spend money? [/QUOTE] Deterioration of hearing due to age begins with the highest pitches - IIRC because these are detected by the smallest [hair cells](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hair_cells_%28ear%29) in the ear, which are the most easily damaged. Yes, I could hear it loudly, and did last week when a kid was showing off their ringtone. I’m 25. (And the idea that they’re using the ringtone to beat phone bans supposes they don’t know how to set their phone to vibrate. Unlikely.) ---
**Author:** ![pudytat72](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@pudytat72](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pudytat72)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2006, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-hear-this-sound-a-poll-test/358083/97 "2006-05-27T14:14:41Z")
Can’t hear it-with computer speakers turned up, no headphones age 51 But I can still hear subtle heart murmurs with my stethoscope. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2006, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-hear-this-sound-a-poll-test/358083/98 "2006-05-27T14:28:39Z")
I couldn’t hear it (31, female), but I called my son (13) in to hear it, and he said it hurt. He described it as “Steady, but pulses, too.” Which I interpret to mean it was a constant noise that varied in volume. He compared it to the sound the TV makes, as well. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2006, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-hear-this-sound-a-poll-test/358083/99 "2006-05-27T14:29:55Z")
OH! Turning it up very loud, I can hear it. The kid just said “OW! Stop that!” from the next room. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2006, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-hear-this-sound-a-poll-test/358083/100 "2006-05-27T14:34:33Z")
I can hear it and it _is_ annoying…but only at a medium or higher volume. Age 38 and as it happens I just had my ears checked last month - .5k - 5/5 1k - 5/0 2k- 0/0 3k- 0/0 4k- 5/10 6k - 5/0 8k - 10/0 Which, weirdly enough, is consistently a little better than my 1991 baseline ( must have had a cold that year ). Of course that doesn’t measure those very high frequencies, but it does seem to indicate that my normal range of hearing is still intact and for my age that’s probably nothing too unusual. Given that the “Mosquito” is supposedly designed to send out these chirps at 80 decibels I suspect that a reasonable number of over 20’s could in fact hear it if they were close to it - which makes the device rather suspect in my eyes. - Tamerlane [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-hear-this-sound-a-poll-test/358083.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-hear-this-sound-a-poll-test/358083.md?page=6)